God's Own Country

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Johnny Saxby (Josh O'Connor) works long hours on his family's remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex. But when a handsome Romanian migrant worker (Alec Secareanu) arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. As they begin working closely together during lambing season, an intense relationship starts to form which could change Johnny's life forever.

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Reasons to Buy

"In his debut feature, (Francis) Lee has crafted a mature love story centered on an immature man facing the fear of even admitting that he needs love at all. it's a film to prize." - Village Voice

"There will be many people who see themselves in the furtive glances and mud-covered kisses from which God's Own Country weaves its harsh but hopeful narrative, and they will do so while witnessing a finely crafted piece of cinema." - Indiewire

"The chemistry between these two men is inescapable, their relationship growing almost imperceptibly, composed expertly in a nuanced script by Lee and unfussily filmed by director of photography Joshua James Richards." - The Film Stage

Reviews

4 Reviews
for God's Own Country

Review by MiCHAEL M

By: MiCHAEL M

Excellent movie. Acting was superb and setting was stark but beautiful. My only compliant was that although they spoke English, the thick northern accents were sometimes hard to understand. I understood it better on my second viewing. I would highly...
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Excellent movie. Acting was superb and setting was stark but beautiful. My only compliant was that although they spoke English, the thick northern accents were sometimes hard to understand. I understood it better on my second viewing. I would highly recommend this movie.

4.00 out of 5

Review by Joe B

By: Joe B

At first I had my doubts - it took a bit of time but eventually one gets hooked.

5.00 out of 5

Review by James A

By: James A

I have watched this three times and just love the two actors, the scenes and the wonderful friendship that develops. Love scenes were get but not long enough. I would give this the FIVE STAR rating and would like to see more of these two in other m...
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I have watched this three times and just love the two actors, the scenes and the wonderful friendship that develops. Love scenes were get but not long enough. I would give this the FIVE STAR rating and would like to see more of these two in other movies.

5.00 out of 5

Review by Amos Lassen

By: Amos Lassen

"God's Own Country"Two Men and PassionAmos Lassen

Johnny Saxby (Josh O'Connor) lives with his distant father and grandmother on a farm in rural Yorkshire where he unenthusiastically carries out his chores while spending his nig...
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"God's Own Country"Two Men and PassionAmos Lassen

Johnny Saxby (Josh O'Connor) lives with his distant father and grandmother on a farm in rural Yorkshire where he unenthusiastically carries out his chores while spending his nights binge drinking and having anonymous sex. Not only does he not respect himself, neither does he respect the willing boys who submit to him. When asked by one of them if he would like to meet up for a drink another time, he is response that someone would ask such a thing.

The farm needs help during the lambing season and it comes with Romanian worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu). Johnny's disapproval of the newcomer is mixed with curiosity, and even envy, as he watches Gheorghe's getting along with the animals. The passion between the men begins with a battle for domination seems to be quite natural afterwards.Director Francis Lee chose to shoot large parts of the film in sustained close-ups, this giving the audience a sense of immediate intimacy with the characters, even though it's the ability to be emotionally intimate that holds Johnny back. Whether it's the harshness of rural life on the farm or the casual way with which Johnny engages in sex, the frame remains unflinchingly in close-up. Lee's movie largely goes past melodrama and irritating contrivances and is quite beautiful.The film has solid and heartfelt performances as well as it deals with conflicts between working-class England and growing European Union immigration. O'Connor is wonderful as Johnny, a 24-year-old farmhand working in brutal isolation on the family estate in the Yorkshire Moors of northern England. As foaling season comes, his family farm, headed by Johnny's hard-as-nails father Martin (Ian Hart), hires an extra worker in Romanian migrant Georghe, an outsider who unsettles Johnny in the routine that protects his own deep insecurities. We sense Johnny's guilt of his own sexuality is seen in the casual sex in pub bathrooms with men who are intoxicated by nightly binge drinking. Lasting relationships are impossible and friendships have long gone. Johnny's former schoolmates left for college long ago and Johnny is now a loner. When a one-night stand requests a date, Johnny looks at him like someone who is from a different planet. Johnny treats Gheorghe like dirt to compensate for his non-acceptance of who he is and taunts him with racial insults fueled that seem to come from his own self-hatred and not from outward disdain. Nonetheless, the chemistry between these two men is inescapable and their relationship grows almost imperceptibly. Their first night of sex, in an isolated barn where they find themselves cooped up for the night is almost animalistic and very, very erotic.

One morning Gheorghe asks Johnny if he is lonely on the farm especially because of the way he behaves. Johnny's masculinity carries with it a sensitive homoerotic charge. It's not that Johnny is unwilling to show his sexuality openly. An old school friend (Patsy Ferran) suggests that his sexuality is common knowledge and she offers to introduce him to a male friend. We see that Johnny's journey is one that will make him comfortable in his own skin.Johnny's father is all heart and soul even with a hard edge towards his son. We see here a bit about class politics, the rural-urban divide, sexuality, and identity. It appears that Georghe's European sensibilities may be what breaks Johnny free from his isolation. There will be those who will immediately see that what happens here is a metaphor to define the relationship that the English need now.Of course we see the usual course of rustic repressions and romance following on the heels of a handsome stranger who comes to Yorkshire in the middle of nowhere. This is certainly a less sensationalized and strenuous version of homosexuality than we're used to seeing rural Britain. Even with an impressively brooding silence between the leads, most of the visual cues underscore the narrative.When Johnnie's father was recently injured and left crippled, leaving sole responsibility for the farm and let crippled, the jobs on the farm feel to the son and his grandmother (Gemma Jones). This is why they had to get help in the person of Goerghe who was running from his own troubles and whose presence eventually Johnny to question some hard truths about who he is and what he wants. Both men's tenderness is seen in the way they for the lives around them. Racial stereotypes concerning Ghoerghe's nationality are smoothed over once their sexual relationship becomes loving and passionate.

The film ignores problematic tangents in order to lead us into the safe-net of a happy romantic ending. Director Lee also avoids over-sentimentality and goes for a message about the possibility of hope for a fulfilling, gay relationship set in the kinds of rural climes where ignorance, repression, and eventual tragedy usually reign rule.There will be comparisons to Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" and there is a possibility for such comparisons. At first, Johnny takes great pleasure in putting Gheorghe in his place as he observes Gheorghe's tireless and honest work ethic. Gheorghe soon grows impatient and demands they work alongside each other respectfully and in this we see stoicism rife with homoerotic tensions. Their relationship, was first infused with aggression, but soon changes into an enduring but embattled love. The film is distinctly British and that we see in the attitude toward the love that develops between these two men. There are several scenes in which Gheorghe interacts with the sheep and we see him as a nurturer. The same care that he uses with the animals is used when he and the tenderness with which he approaches the animals under his care is the same tenderness we see in him when he approaches Johnny. Without saying a word, Gheorghe manages to teach Johnny how to connect on an emotional level and soothes and comforts him in much the same way he comforts the sheep. This is unexpected and a bit unsettling at first yet it is powerfully emotive.